“In the time we’ve been off air, we’ve never stopped working on the show’s return,” says Chris, 44, from Formby.

“I knew, from the start, that there was another story to tell in the world of Broadchurch: so much so that I’d pitched it to Peter Fincham, Director of Television at ITV, in our very first meeting when he greenlit the first series of the show. That’s the story you’ll be seeing soon. But be prepared: series two is a different journey, it has a different shape and energy, a different rhythm.

“It’s a new story, and there’s a different engine under the bonnet this year. Some characters from series one return, others don’t. And there’s a set of new characters for you to get to know.”

David Tennant returns as Alec Hardy and Olivia Colman resumes her role as Ellie Miller, last seen having her life torn apart as husband Joe confessed to murdering local schoolboy Danny Latimer in the seaside town. Jodie Whittaker and Andrew Buchan, who play Danny’s parents Beth and Mark Latimer, will also return to their roles, alongside Arthur Darvill as vicar Paul Coates, Carolyn Pickles as newspaper editor Maggie Radcliffe and a host of other ‘local’ faces.

There are plenty of fresh faces joining the cast.

“The extraordinary Charlotte Rampling appearing on ITV for the first time,” says Chris. “Oscar-nominee Marianne Jean-Baptiste (has been) lured back from LA. Eve Myles, who I wrote for in two seasons of Torchwood, and the wonderful Meera Syal, James D’Arcy and others besides.”

This time around it’s very different for the team – last year there were no expectations.

“We started life as a little show that nobody had heard of,” says Chris. “Then, after a few Monday nights on ITV in 2013, we started being talked about all over the place. It’s been a whirlwind. But our focus has always been what happens next.”

Chris isnlt giving anything away about the details of the show, which starts at 9pm on Monday January 5.

“We’re keeping our lips as tightly sealed as possible until then,” he explaisn. “We’re doing this because we loved how audiences connected with, and responded to, Broadchurch the first time round. We know we’ll never replicate the way the first series took hold but nonetheless we’re doing our best to ensure our story goes unrevealed, and the audience can remain unspoilered, until it’s broadcast on ITV. We’d like everyone to see the pieces fall into place (and they will) when you watch episode one on Monday night. And for people to find out – as much as possible – together, at the same time. That’s not such a crazy idea, is it?”

There are also more elements this year.

“After each episode, a new short story, written by Erin Kelly (author of the Broadchurch novel) will be available as an ebook single,” he says. “We’ve been working on these alongside the series: each story will focus on a character from this series of Broadchurch. Put together the eight stories will make up a collection. We think this is the first time something like this has been done – a chance for the audience to go deeper into the characters, released as the series is transmitting. We can’t wait to welcome you back to Broadchurch. There’s going to be lots to talk about.”

Broadchurch facts:

It was ITV’s highest rated drama of 2013

The season 1 finale was watched by over 10 million and consistently delivered in excess of 9 million in primetime

Broadchurch is a multi-award winning drama including four BAFTA awards, two RTS awards and the prestigious international Peabody Award

Broadchurch was the UK’s highest rated new launch of 2013

ITV’s most tweeted-about drama series since records began: 470,000 tweets

Over the final episode 260,000 tweets were sent, peaking at 8,942 per minute

In France, Broadchurch delivered an audience of 7.3 million viewers and a 27.5% market share (exceeding Frace2’s slot average by +64%)